Individuals often find it frustrating to improve their overall nutrition and health. Currently available strategies often result in limited or no success, in part because they rely on inadequate information about the person and his or her objectives. One common approach is to consult with physicians who provide general guidelines and advice, such as instructions to consume less salt and more fruits and vegetables, exercise more, or avoid certain foods such as red meats. However, given the complexities and individual variations in human metabolism, it can be very difficult for physicians to provide guidelines that are effective, and very difficult for people to implement the guidelines.
Multiple nutritional computer programs exist that provide guidelines by analyzing a person's consumption. These programs typically identify nutrients that are deemed to be deficient for the person, then recommend foods high in the identified nutrients. For example, if a person is found to be deficient in potassium, a program may suggest that the person consume a banana because of the high potassium level of bananas. However, suggesting a food because of its high level of one nutrient does not necessarily lead to an improvement in a person's overall nutrition. For example, the person may have already consumed an excessive amount of other nutrients, such as carbohydrates, so suggesting that the person eat a banana may increase the person's potassium level at the expense of the person's carbohydrate level, in some cases to the person's detriment. When multiple nutrients are at issue, it can be particularly difficult to make recommendations that address deficiencies and excesses in some nutrients without harmfully changing the levels of nutrients that are already in balance. This problem is particularly challenging for meal-planning and diet and exercise routine development, where a typical diet may include hundreds of foods with a multitude of different variations between ingredients and portion sizes.
Some researchers have proposed the use of a single dietary program for a particular population group that is sensitive to food costs and existing consumption patterns within that group (see, e.g., Masset et. al, 2009). The goal of these programs is to change the average existing consumption pattern of the group as little as possible while staying within a safe range of nutrients. But this “one-size fits all” approach does not help individuals set meaningful goals for diet and exercise or track progress toward these goals, let alone help the individual improve their own personal nutritional or exercise profile.